Tineola bisselliella (Hummel, 1823)

Webbing clothes moth

A small buff-colored moth whose larvae chew holes in wool, silk, and fur.

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Tineidae
Group: Moths
Ontario status: Established, indoor fabric pest provincewide

Why it matters

Destroys woolens, upholstery, carpets and museum textiles, damage is often found only after months of silent feeding.

Origin

Probably African in origin; now worldwide wherever people store wool and fur.

Behavior

Adults are weak fliers that avoid light; they don't feed at all. Larvae stay hidden in the fabric, spinning silken webbing as they graze, and can feed for months on a single garment.

Living conditions

Dark, undisturbed places: closets, drawers, under furniture, storage boxes. Larvae need animal fibers, wool, silk, fur, feathers, and shun light.

Signs of presence

Irregular holes in wool, silk or fur garments
Silken webbing or tubes on fabric surfaces
Tiny cream caterpillars (~10 mm) in closets or drawers
Grainy frass the color of the fabric
Small buff moths fluttering when a closet is disturbed

Weaknesses

Adults don't feed, only the larvae damage fabric
Larvae need animal fiber; synthetics and clean cotton are safe
Light and disturbance drive them away, regularly worn clothes are rarely hit
Larvae die in heat and prolonged freezing

Myths and facts

Myth The moths eat the clothes.
Reality Adult moths never feed; the larvae do all the damage.
Myth Cedar closets kill them.
Reality Fresh cedar oil repels weakly; it does not kill larvae already feeding in fabric.

Research notes

Morphology

Adults 6-7 mm body, wingspan 12-16 mm; uniformly buff to golden, head with a tuft of reddish hairs. Larvae cream-white, ~10 mm, with a brown head capsule; spin silken feeding tubes (webbing) rather than a portable case.

Diagnostics

Confirm by buff color + webbing on fabric (not a carried case) + larval feeding on keratin. Adults show no wing markings.

Easily confused with

Casemaking clothes moth, Tinea pellionella Larva carries a portable silken case; adult is mottled gray-brown, not buff.

Life cycle

Adult: Lives 2-4 weeks; does not feed.
Egg: Laid on keratin materials; hatch in ~1-2 weeks at room temperature.
Egg to adult: ~2-3 months at 25 °C; up to 2 years when cool
Generations per year: 2-4 indoors per year
Nymph or larva: Feeding stage lasts 1-3 months at room temperature, up to 2 years in cool, poor-diet conditions; spins silken webbing.

Development

Complete metamorphosis: egg → larva (many instars, number varies with diet and temperature) → pupa → adult.

Reproduction

Females lay 40-100 eggs on suitable fibers.

Distribution

Global: Cosmopolitan indoors
Native range: Probably Africa
Ontario: Established, indoor fabric pest provincewide

Ecology

Keratin specialist, digests wool, hair and feathers with specialized gut proteases. Larvae avoid light; infestations concentrate in undisturbed storage.

Resistance

Unknown, not a significant insecticide-resistance subject.

IPM implications

Pheromone traps detect adults and map activity, but larvae are the target, inspection must focus on undisturbed keratin materials, not open rooms. The keratin-only diet makes exclusion absolute: no animal fiber, no infestation.

Chemical ecology

Female-produced sex pheromone attracts males, used in monitoring traps; larvae use silk for shelter construction.

Genetics and DNA

No reference genome published as of 2026

Taxonomy

Order Lepidoptera, family Tineidae (fungus moths). Described by Hummel, 1823. The most common clothes moth worldwide.

Open questions

Keratin-digesting gut microbiome composition.

References

Ebeling, W. Urban Entomology, UC Riverside
Mallis Handbook of Pest Control